Too many hands on the ball
AS a keen player in many sports in the lower leagues and thereafter an avid spectator, again in many sports, I would like to make a few comments on sport in the 21st century.
Firstly, ball tampering in cricket. This has probably been prevalent for as long as the game has been played, but to my mind could be almost eliminated by all players having to wear clothes with no pockets – if he needs to carry a handkerchief it could be tucked in his belt.
Then no more rubbing the ball on his pants or interfering with it in any way. If a ball requires drying, it must be passed to an umpire for the task.
The umpires must also frequently inspect the ball to ensure that it has not been gouged by fingernails or scoured on the ground – if it has, then it has to be immediately replaced by a ball of the same usage.
Secondly, rugby. I recall the famous battle cry “Feet Scotland Feet” by Scots spectators. Today the ball is juggled by hand at the feet of players in a loose scrum or maul as though it were a circus act. Let’s get back to playing the game upright.
Finally the old adage, money is the root of all evil. I remember an old and dear friend of mine, Ernie Mills, telling me that he had to paint over the name of the maker of his bicycle – it was advertising – when he competed in the 1936 Olympics and the 1938 Commonwealth Games.
Also that wonderful Dutch athlete Fanny Blankers-Koen who, when presented with a bicycle by the residents of her home village in Holland, could not accept it – it would have ruined her amateur status.
I have no doubt that before long racehorse and Grand Prix motor racing will be included as Olympic sports, and then surely the word “sport” should be replaced by “entertainment”, like theatre, cinema and television.